Both shingles (known as Herpes
Zoster) and postherpetic neuralgia normally occur
in older people. Postherpetic neuralgia is the most
common complication of shingles and is unusual in
those younger than sixty years. Postherpetic neuralgia
is the name given to the pain of shingles continuing
long after the rash itself has gone. Approximately
twenty percent of people with shingles will then get
postherpetic neuralgia which is the name given to
pain along the skin's nerves persisting more than
thirty days after the original shingles blisters have
healed.
Like Shingles, Post Herpetic Neuralgia causes pain,
including burning, itching or hypersensitivity, which
can be severe. Your skin might react to the changes
in temperature or the touch of clothing or bed linen.
Most people with postherpetic neuralgia recover in
time and the majority will be free of pain within
a year. However, a small percentage will suffer from
chronic pain.
If you are searching for
a natural and safe Shingles
Treatment, try Heal
Shingles - a proven effective formula
for Shingles.
Shingles itself is caused by the chicken pox virus and therefore, you can only develop shingles if you have previously had chickenpox, or the chickenpox vaccine. The virus can lie dormant in the nervous system for many years and shingles only occurs if the virus is revitalized in a nerve to the skin. Usually, the cause is a weakness in your immune system perhaps through other infections, stress or from being generally run down. Shingles can be a serious threat to those people suffering from an HIV infection or who are being treated for cancer or have even received an organ transplant.
The first sign of shingles is normally a burning or tingling pain in or under the skin. Sometimes there is numbness. You may also feel feverish and suffer from a headache or upset stomach. After several days or sometimes up to two weeks, a rash of small red spots starts to appear on the skin. They quickly turn to blisters (something like chickenpox) and the skin may be red in color. There can be severe pain and sensitivity.
Within about a week, the blisters start to burst and
are then covered in a crust or scab. The skin slowly
recovers sometimes leaving lighter colored scars.
The pain usually disappears with the rash (within
three to five weeks) but some people suffer from pain
in the same area for many months or even years and
it is this latter condition which is called postherpetic
neuralgia.
Go
to our Shingles Treatment page
Resources
* www.medinfo.co.uk
* www.familydoctor.org
Bookmark Our Site
